The United Nations Food Agency issued a warning on Friday to warring parties in Sudan, stating that there is a serious risk of widespread famine and death in Darfur and other areas of Sudan if humanitarian aid is not allowed into the vast western region.
Leni Kinzli, the regional spokesperson for the World Food Programme, stated that at least 1.7 million people in Darfur were experiencing emergency levels of hunger in December, with the number expected to be “much higher today.”
Speaking at a virtual UN press conference from Nairobi, Kinzli emphasized, “Our calls for humanitarian aid to reach conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical.”
Sudan descended into chaos in mid-April 2023 when long-standing tensions between its army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the quasi-military Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo erupted into street battles in the capital Khartoum.
The fighting spread to other parts of the country, particularly urban areas and the Darfur region.
The Rapid Support Forces seized control of most parts of Darfur and besieged El Fasher, the only capital in Darfur not under their control, which has become a refuge for about 500,000 civilians.
Kinzli stated that WFP partners on the ground reported that the situation in El Fasher was “extremely dire,” and civilians seeking to flee the RSF bombardment found it challenging to leave.
She pointed out that violence in El Fasher and northern Darfur exacerbated critical humanitarian needs in the entire Darfur region, where staple crop production such as wheat and sorghum is down by 78 percent from the five-year average.
In addition to the escalating violence, Kinzli said, “WFP is concerned that hunger will significantly worsen with the onset of lean times between harvest seasons and food depletion among people.”
She added that a recent report from a farm in El Fasher indicated that their household food stocks had already run out, signaling that the “lean season,” which usually begins in May, had started early.
